Japan carried out the death penalty on Friday for a man known as the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, marking the country’s first execution since 2022. Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged for the killings of his victims, mostly women, whom he contacted through the social media platform now known as X. He targeted users discussing suicide and offered to assist them, only to brutally murder them. Shiraishi’s crimes, committed in 2017, included robbery, rape, murder, and desecration of corpses, with the victims’ remains hidden in boxes and discarded in a garbage dump. The gruesome murders were discovered after a young woman’s disappearance led her brother to Shiraishi’s residence, where dismembered body parts were found.
Shiraishi was sentenced to death in 2020 for the murders of his nine victims, aged between 15 and 26. Despite arguments from his defense that the victims had suicidal thoughts and consented to die, a judge deemed his crimes as cunning and cruel. Executions in Japan are carried out by hanging, with nearly 100 death row prisoners awaiting their fate. The process is shrouded in secrecy, with prisoners kept uninformed until the day of their hanging. Japanese law mandates executions within six months of a final verdict, although many prisoners seek retrials.
Many inmates endure lengthy periods of solitary confinement, facing uncertainty for years and even decades. There has been widespread criticism of the system and the government’s lack of transparency on this issue. The recent execution of Shiraishi was the first under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration, as reported by the Japan Times. In a separate case, Tomohiro Kato was hanged in 2022 for a 2008 attack that resulted in the deaths of seven people in Tokyo. Notable executions include the high-profile cases of the guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult in 2018. Aum Shinrikyo was responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attacks on Tokyo’s subway that killed 14 individuals and affected thousands more. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or a crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For information on mental health resources and support, you can also reach out to The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org during their operating hours.
